From the Top!!

We are back at the top of our ABC round!


ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our seventh round-some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "A".

ANGEL

An artful angel, at that! I took this in the building that houses the gift shop and gallery at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. This room off to the side I believe, which housed some vending machines. I am remiss that I did not record the artist's name to give credit here. Pretty darned cool angel, I think!

ART and ARCHITECTURE

 (Museum of Art, Denver, CO)

(architecture from 16th street looking east in Denver, CO)

The hallmark of any great city, a full fledged, coming of age city, is having distinctive architecture. It becomes the landmark for that city and determines the look of their skyline. It is one of the best ways that a city can identify and brand itself. Some classics examples are the Space Needle in Seattle's skyline. The Empire State Building and the former Twin Towers of New York City. The Bank of America building  and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. You get the gist. Denver has taken some really BOLD steps in the past decade or so in adding to their line up of distinctive architecture. Their art museum must've been a pain in the you know what to build and most likely incredibly expensive. Their airport design created a lot of controversy, but it is as unique as Sydney's Opera House.

It's all about the aesthetics of art and architecture. Speaking as an artist!

AMA DIVER

The practice of free diving (without scuba equipment) is an ancient one in Japan. Ama divers have become associated in last century in regards to the practice of pearl diving. I've mentioned before a fascinating book that talks about the history of jewels by Victoria Finlay, called, "Jewels: The Secret History". The chapter on pearls was so interesting. It's a book 

that can be read at any pace in any order. I also have her book on the history of color which is her first book. That too, is good, but meanders too much. This one is much more focused and holds my attention.